School's Out
by Kiddo20
Summary: Their friendship had never made sense. Even Iruka, the one teacher who encouraged their being friends couldn't understand it. But it finally clicked on day. Because it wasn't friendship, but something more. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Series. Unrelated.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Neither the characters nor the artwork are mine. This is purely a fan work and I am making no money off of the use of any material.

Author's Note: The reason that this one took so long is because I literally wrote 10 different versions of this story. Some pieces of all of those have made it into this final version whose plot is both similar and incredibly divergent from plots of the other stories. I kept getting 3-4 pages in and then not liking where the story was going and needing to start over again to get the story around to where I wanted it. This is the final outcome of that repetitive process.

Also, my only experience in an Asian school setting is as a teaching in South Korea so I have placed this story in that kind of setting. It is not really an important fact of the story, but I don't really know the Japanese system so if someone is and reads this and sees some kind of issue – that is why.

I also wanted to try a bit of an experiment of writing one of these with the majority of the story coming from an outsider's perspective, and Iruka was just a rather easy character to slip in to this role, and I kind of just like him as a character.

Image can be found at:

callypso713. skyrock. (com/) 3166654124- Shikanaru. html

I don't know if this person actually made the image or it is just being hosted there, but this is the site that I found it on. Also, the title is my own.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Story Ten

School's Out

Their friendship didn't make sense.

Shikamaru wanted nothing from the world around him but quiet so that he could sleep peacefully. He wanted to dodge out of anything that took even the remotest amount of effort. Wanted to fade away into the woodwork and be completely overlooked. He did the bear minimum just to scrape by.

Naruto on the other hand wanted to use all of his restless energy, to jump up and move around and be on the move _doing_ something at all times. He wanted to take on seemingly herculean tasks. He wanted all eyes on him. He went above and beyond in effort, more than any ever required or expected of him, just to scrape by.

They were polar opposites.

But fate was funny.

It kept putting them together.

Randomization algorithms in the school's computer system had them in the same homeroom class year after year.

Location of residence had them riding the same bus to and from school each day.

A similar attitude of aggravated dismissal from their teachers year after year formed a sense of camaraderie.

Only a few years into their primary education had the two thick as thieves. Naruto standing watch over the sleeping boy at recess who was the only one who didn't scream or belittle the energetic blonde.

Then their final year of schooling rolled around. Both skirting in by what seemed like the skin of their teeth, they had yet another new teacher to face, one Iruka Umino – a relatively young teacher who was still trying to learn the ropes of his chosen profession himself.

"Fifteen bucks says he's got us on complete opposite sides of the classroom." The dark haired Shikamaru Nara mumbled as they scaled the stairs of the school building for the first day of their final year. All the teachers did it – as though separating the boys would somehow influence their willingness to pay attention in class.

Naruto Uzumaki merely sighed, still attempting to fix his uniform tie so that it had a chance of being...well...uniform. "I wish I had the money to blow. Not taking that bet – you'd win in a heartbeat."

Shikamaru chuckled as he watched the blonde struggle before finally taking pity and pulling him over to the side of the hall and sorted out the wardrobe issue himself.

"One of these days you will figure out how to tie a tie."

Naruto shrugged, yawning quickly before smiling. "What's the point? I'm never going to have a job that requires a tie – let's be honest here." The pair walked to the end of the hall and slipping into their new classroom as Naruto continued, "I'll probably end up working construction or as a mechanic or something. _You're_ the one who is going to college. You're gonna need to pull up your grades for that this year though or your mom's gonna go ballistic."

"Yeah, yeah...I know...freakin' drag though..."

A cheery voice broke through their conversation. "Welcome to my class boys! I'm Mr. Umino. Find your names on the seating chart and have a seat." A smiling young man with a curious scar across the bridge of his nose gestured wide to the board where the seating chart had been taped up for the students to peruse.

Shikamaru grunted in response while Naruto at least smiled once at the man in an attempt at good cheer before the man figured out who he was and connected his face with all of the stories of aggravation that likely floated around the staff room and all that cheer went away.

The Nara found his name first and as his eyes darted around it to see whose presence he would have to suffer his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I don't believe it..." he muttered in seemingly genuine shock.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at his friend rather than scanning the paper before them.

In lieu of answering, Shikamaru fished out his wallet, grabbed Naruto's hand and slapped $15 into it. "I know you didn't take the bet, but damn..." He finally pointed at the paper indicating his own name and then dragged his finger down,

The seat directly behind the Nara was Naruto.

"Sweet!" The blonde cried and the pair turned to take their seats.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Iruka had heard all the stories about the pair. That Shikamaru grossly underworked his potential, while Naruto consistently fell short of learning goals.

Their friendship was widely decried as well, much to the new teacher's annoyance.

"You know who the Nara's father is don't you?" Another teacher had cornered him with just this morning, "It's Shikaku Nara. The head of the international pharmaceutical company. The kid is sitting on a gold mine. It's that damn Uzumaki brat dragging him down."

And no one needed to ask questions about Naruto Uzumaki, teachers were more than willing to go ahead and share their foreknowledge of the boy without any prompting of any kind. The kid was notorious. Renowned for pranking, from which few were safe, and a frequent participant in fights with other students, along with being a poor achiever in the classroom, the kid had detractors galore. "And he's an _orphan_," the same teacher had spat out, as though it was a dirty word. "Did you know he had a guardian who wouldn't even take him after his parents' died? Hah – even that guy knew a lost cause when he saw one."

Iruka had buried his hands deep in the blackness under his desk so that the woman wouldn't see the whiteness of his knuckles as his fists clenched.

Didn't she know that this was just an impressionable young child? One who had been left to her care along with the rest of the students in this school? Wasn't it her job to help mold him? Not tear him down at every chance?

He knew what it was like to be in Naruto's shoes, though he had found a pleasant enough foster situation relatively early on that had helped stabilize him, he had seen a lot of similarities between himself and the boy when he had perused the Uzumaki's file.

Name: Uzumaki, Naruto

Grade: 12

Class Ranking: Bottom Quartile

Cumulative Grade Point Average: 1.9/4.0

Standardized Testing Scores:

Reading: Bottom Quartile

Writing: Bottom Quartile

Mathematics: Bottom Quartile

Science: Bottom Half

Social Studies: Bottom Quartile

Additional Information:

\- Ward of the State

\- Lives in Konoha Home for Boys (Group Home)

\- Free Lunch Recipient

Free Uniform Recipient

Free Tuition Recipient

\- ADHD diagnosis, no medication

Stuffed behind the form were seemingly endless additional forms. Reports of disciplinary issues, classroom interruptions, poor grades, reading below grade level, constant issues with fighting and general attention seeking behavior.

But he also notices that some teachers were there to praise the boy. The gym teacher Gai glowed about his energy and attentiveness during class and wishing the boy's grades were good enough to allow the boy on the cross country team as he could run like the wind for insane distances. The Industrial Technology teacher Asuma had never once reported an issue with Naruto in class and actually displaying some of the child's projects around the classroom – even requesting the boy as an aide the previous year, something again shot down over complaints about the student's grades in nearly every other aspect of his educational career.

The Nara's file had had a glance as well.

Name: Nara, Shikamaru

Grade: 12

Class Ranking: Bottom Quartile

Cumulative Grade Point Average: 2.1/4.0

Standardized Testing Scores:

Reading: Bottom Quartile

Writing: Bottom Quartile

Mathematics: Bottom Quartile

Science: Bottom Quartile

Social Studies: Bottom Quartile

Additional Information:

Here instead of the usual bulleted information point, someone had written in bold red sharpie: NOT NARCOLEPTIC, JUST LAZY!

Many reports of sleeping in class, and constant under-performance of perceived ability. Most interestingly was a report from the last year stating that the boy had bubbled in his name on the standardized test forms and then promptly fell asleep for the duration without answering a single question.

Just looking at the files he would never have thought that these two would be friends. On paper they don't make sense.

Naruto was all sunshine and eagerness, though his ability lagged behind the rest of the class, he seemed to skirt by each year on sheer guts alone.

Shikamaru was all shadows and lethargy, seeming to calculate the exact bear minimum amount of effort required to pass and not putting forth so much as an iota more.

There were ten minutes left before the school year started and Iruka, whether out of spite against all of the other teachers or what he wasn't entirely sure, found himself re-doing his entire seating chart.

If years of keeping the friends apart didn't have any affect. Maybe putting them together would. Maybe Naruto's energy would keep his sleepy friend awake. Maybe Shikamaru's apparent natural intelligence would help Naruto's slower grasp on the material.

He had smirked inwardly as the duo with surprised looks took their desks, sitting gingerly as they were ready to jump up once Iruka had figured out what he had done and tell them to switch.

Both seemed on edge through the day's lessons.

But he had two victories already by the end of the day.

Naruto hadn't caused a commotion.

Shikamaru hadn't fallen asleep.

Both of them had listened to every word that their new teacher had said, for an entire day.

Iruka had enjoyed a victorious cold beer that night after double checking all of his lesson plans for the next day.

The other teachers had lost their minds upon walking into the classroom for their first class and seeing the two together, demanded for Naruto to return to his proper seat and didn't believe him when he said that he was in his assigned seat. Didn't believe Shikamaru. Didn't believe any of the students in the class. Instead Naruto had been grabbed by the ear and dragged through the hallway to wherever Iruka had been at the moment – whether that was teaching a class or in the teachers' office – and he swore he saw their eyes bug out when he confirmed that Naruto had been telling the truth, that yes, he had sat the pair together, and would they please return the boy to the classroom so that he could continue his education, thanks.

Throughout that year Iruka grouped the boys together on projects in his own history courses and watched in amazement as both boys contributed helpfully, which he had been told repeatedly would never happen. Shikamaru bringing his own intellect to bear to the shock of his classmates and Naruto throwing out interesting angles from which to approach their topics that were unique far more interesting to see as a teacher after getting the exact same report from every other group – just because that topic had been easy to see from minute one.

And there was a sadistic pleasure in Iruka's smile when the grade reports came in for the first quarter and not only had Naruto's grades pulled up to a C average, but Shikamaru's had pulled up as well and there were less complaints of the boy sleeping in class (if only because Naruto would ask a clarification question of him periodically and it helped to keep the other boy awake).

He might have had a bit of a smug air about him in the staff room for a while.

And then they slipped into the second semester. All of the students started to bear down and concentrate on preparing for the college entrance exam. Tempers became a little shorter, eyelids drooped a little deeper and it wasn't just Shikamaru who began to nod off in class with all of the pressure and tension and late nights studying.

Every year around this time, in schools all over the country, kids snapped – they couldn't take the pressure and just let it out in a moment and stress-driven rage.

Iruka just kept his fingers crossed that it wouldn't be one of his kids.

But wherever there was trouble, there was Naruto.

Naruto was a bit of a ticking time bomb in the best of scenarios.

He hadn't had a blow out in the school in a while. He had been growing increasingly tense, as he did for every exam season. And it was evident that the boy was exhausted. Bags drooped ever deeper under the boy's eyes and Iruka was counting down the days because no amount of inquiring into the boy's well being was ever greeted with more than a tired smile and an "I'm fine Mr. Umino."

So when the shout of "FUCK OFF!" Bellowed through the hallway, Iruka wasn't surprised.

"Young man! You will watch your language!" The pompous voice of Ebisu, the literature teacher, screeched through the hall.

By the time Iruka reach them, the verbal spar was well underway. His student was flushed, and backed into the wall in the hallway, a concern looking Shikamaru standing at the Uzumaki's side, keeping a hand tight around Naruto's bicep to keep the other boy in check.

"Mr. Uchiha..." Ebisu had started, but Naruto cut him off.

"Is a fucking bastard! He's an asshole! He treats everyone like garbage and me even more so for reasons I will never know and frankly don't even care about any more. Same for pretty much everyone in this school. But his name is _Uchiha_," Naruto sneered and for the first time Iruka could see that street rat that everyone else thought the boy to be, but it wasn't violence towards everyone else that the boy was spewing now. It was a sense of self-loathing combined with a desperate struggle against the apathy that threatened to overtake him every day. "He has a famous _name_ so he must be _important_. Of course everything he _does_ must be _innocent_ and _perfect_."

The blond slumped suddenly, like the air was let out of a balloon. "Do you even know what was going on? Did you know that your perfect little angel has been telling me that I was useless for years? That I shouldn't even be here. That I was stealing an education from someone else who deserved it. As though I don't. As though I'm not worth it. As though because my name isn't well known, because I don't have family connections, that I am somehow lesser."

Iruka was frozen to the spot, along with the rest of the class that had formed a semi-circle, giving the impression that they were clearly supporting Ebisu, supporting Sasuke Uchiha and stood against the embattled blond. Other classrooms had flooded out their students into the hallway and they too were watching with bated breath as the confrontation continued. Despite the sheer amount of people in the hallway at that moment, no one was making a sound; they were enthralled by the show being put on before them.

So it was into a terrifyingly stiff silence that Naruto whispered. It was a silence that had Iruka trapped in his own skin. Every muscle in his body was tensed and straining because he knew. He knew what was coming next. He _knew_. Somehow he already knew that words that were going to slip out of Naruto's mouth as though he had the script before him. He knew and he didn't want to hear it. Because it was too hard. It was too much. The burden to heavy to be born by the strongest of adults and yet it was hefted upon the shoulders of a teenager. Of a child. He wanted to do something, _anything_ just to make this moment end. But he remained frozen, like everyone else. Trapped his own fear and disbelief, and misplaced hope that he was somehow wrong. He couldn't take a step forward, he couldn't call out. He could only wait and listen.

"He told me to kill myself." It was so quiet. So, so quiet that it was almost as though the thought had just been implanted directly into everyone's head rather than spoken aloud. "He told me to just go home today and kill myself."

A humorless laugh crawled out of Naruto. It was just wrong. So very wrong to hear something like that come out of the cheerful boy that Naruto could be when he was given a shot.

"Bastard is so stupid that he doesn't even know that's not possible." Naruto looked up and blue eyes that had lost their sparkle, blue eyes that were somehow grey instead bore down into his teacher, "I don't even have a home to go to. I never have. I go _back_ not _home_. Never home." And then it was like the boy collapsed.

Shikamaru's arm was around the blonde's shoulder, slowing the fall as the boy's legs seemed to give up for the moment and the both found themselves on the dirty tiled floor of their school. "Naruto!" He grunted, concern dripping from his voice, dark eyes glued on the pathetic form of what had always seemed like an impenetrably defended mind. .

And Iruka felt something stirring within him. His chest felt tight, and his stomach felt warm. His skin tingled as every muscle in him seemed to flex. His fingers curled in tight, nails almost cutting into skin with pain that would have actually felt god to his warped mind.

Fury.

This was fury. Pure righteous fury at those who had brought suffering to a boy who deserved anything but. A boy who had to endure the dull ache of loneliness in a callousness world where those who were supposed to care for him and look after him shied away or acted against him outright. Who had lost his family before he ever had a chance to known them. Who was failed by the one that family had trusted to look after him in case the worst should happen. Who despite everything never gave up, and never stopped trying.

_Naruto was the kid who tried to bring smiles to people's faces. _

Imagine Iruka's surprise when he went to the hospital to bring a friend some clothing as they sat at the bedside of their sick child to find Naruto playing with the children and doing crafts, volunteering his Saturday morning every week to help these kids forget, even if only for a moment, that they were sick and laugh. And frankly his even _greater_ surprise of seeing Shikamaru in another corner of that same room reading a storybook to some children who didn't have the energy to do the activities with Naruto.

_Naruto was the kid who had so little and was still willing to share._

Naruto had come into school one day with a bag of chips. Surprising enough considering that the boy had no spending money because the school had turned down repeated requests from the boy to allow him to get a job while attending school in light of his low grades. The obvious pride that Naruto had displayed by mere possession of these was almost too much to bear because having a snack shouldn't be so novel a concept, not in a nation like theirs. However, hearing the grumbling in the stomach of Chouji Akimichi, seated next to him, the blonde had handed over the snack without a second thought, though he did smile when Chouji opened it and passed the first chip back to the snack's original owner. Apparently BBQ was both of their favorites.

_Naruto was kind and loyal to those who had shown kindness to him._

His friendship with Shikamaru aside, Naruto clearly put forth effort with people who tried to do the same with him. When Shino showed no aversion to working with the blonde on an assignment, Naruto put forth the effort and didn't blow it off. When Kiba told someone being snarky to the blonde to back off, he didn't know what he had a new friend for life coming his way. And in class, with the teachers who put effort into Naruto, the blonde returned it tenfold. Naruto's scores in history had been nothing short of abysmal for years, but in Iruka's class they had greatly improved. He wasn't going to be moving on to study it in university or anything, but he could passably explain basic facts about his own country now. And Shikamaru's grades had hiked up as well, and Iruka's own personal point of pride was that neither boy ever slept through his class.

_Naruto was forgiving._

It had been hot gossip around the school that Neji Hyuuga, a boy who had been at larger heads with Naruto for quite some time, formally apologized to the boy in the school cafeteria (though none of the teachers knew why, they figured it might have something to do with the fat lip, black eyes and swollen knuckles that the pair were supporting respectively). Naruto's response had been a handshake and pulling out a chair for the other boy to sit down with a smile. No grudges being held undeservedly after amends had been reached.

If Naruto had had a better station in life, if his parents had been around, if his godfather was more responsible, if he had just been luckier in placement within the foster system, the boy's life could have been something so much greater than it was. He had been let down by the adults in his life in a massive way and still he smiled and laughed and joked and tried to be positive.

And he shouldn't have to.

He shouldn't _have _to.

He shouldn't have to deal with any of that because the adults in his life should be stepping up instead of stepping back.

And so Iruka was pissed.

He was _furious_.

And for the first time, those students in that hallway were going to see easy-going, slightly bumbling Mr. Iruka Umino blow his top.

"Everyone – back into your classrooms NOW!"

The sheer volume at which the brunette had bellowed made more than a few jump.

He stomped forward, as all the voyeur classes shifted back into their rooms while Naruto's remained stationary.

"I said NOW!" He again glared down the students merely standing by who started at the harsh tone coming out of the normally docile man. "Not you Mr. Uchiha," he ground out, his hand rest firmly on the teen's shoulder as the boy had gone to move by as well with the crowd.

Dark eyes showed faint surprise at the anger being directed at him by a teacher. "You are visiting the Principal's Office now."

Sasuke's eyes flared in shock and there was a choking noise behind him as Naruto seemed to choke on his own spit.

"Now see here Mr. Umino," Ebisu began but Iruka was done listening to the man.

"I see plenty here already." He growled. "I see a student who has been systematically bullied, by even the faculty, being told to kill himself by another student and your response to go after the one being threatened."

"Now that's..."

"Exactly what happened." Shikamaru's voice finished evenly from behind them, an edge and strength presence in the student's voice and not a trace of lethargy.

"So you say." Sasuke sneered in response.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow and pulled out a tape recorder from his pocket. "I got sick of you always bagging on Naruto," and his eyes trailed over to Ebisu, "and teachers never doing anything about it and sometimes joining in."

"You will hand that over right now?" Ebisu announced sticking out his hand. "You are not permitted those in school."

"There is nothing in the rules against tape recorders." Iruka said, nodded his head slightly to Shikamaru and giving the boy a slight smile. "Cell phones and iPods but nothing about tape recorders."

Ebisu's mouth worked like a fish for a moment, bobbing up and down, as he struggled to come up with a counter to the younger teacher's argument.

With a mocking flick of his wrist Iruka waved Ebisu back off to the classroom. "I'll deal with these kids, you go back to the classroom. I suspect the Principal will want a word with you later though."

Naruto and Shikamaru were steered off into an unused classroom and told to wait as Iruka led the still disbelieving Uchiha directly to the Principal.

At first the Principal clearly wanted to brush off the incident as common razing between teenagers, in fact he seemed convinced that Naruto was the instigator and Iruka just stared in shock for a moment almost unwilling to think that the bias against Naruto was _this_ systematic.

The Principal was ready to shoo off Sasuke back to class, without even a slap on the wrist when Iruka dropped the bomb, "There is a recording of Mr. Uchiha telling Naruto to kill himself." The voice was ground out like metal against concrete as the man pushed the words through his teeth with his jaw clench tight to stop himself from screaming. Naruto wasn't a perfect kid, not by a long shot, but he deserved to be protected in school the same as any other student.

It was almost like Iruka could see the cogs turning inside the position grubbing man's head, trying to figure out a way to shelter the rich, prominent student while laying the blame at the foot of the social outcast.

Iruka felt bile rise up his throat at the thought of 'peer mediation' when everyone in school was enamored or kissing up to the wealthy boy and reminded the Principal that threats of this nature fell under the 'No Tolerance' policy.

"Mr. Uchiha must receive a minimum of 1 week suspension." Iruka stated flatly, his mouth set into a grim line.

"Well…" The Principal twiddled his thumbs and adjusted his classes, staring down strictly at the desk and not looking his young teacher in the eye. "This is a first offense…and something like that could ruin his record…"

"No tolerance is no tolerance." Iruka argued back, "Besides, a suspension would ruin Uchiha's record, but suicide would end Naruto's life. An innocent child would be gone forever from this world at the goading of another immature child. And from the sound of things, this sort of thing has been happening for a while; it's just the first time that we have evidence of it because Shikamaru recorded the conversation."

Sasuke glowered at his history teacher as the Principal finally gave in to the pressure of his insistent staff member, but Iruka already knew that he was going to be paying for this with detention duties and extra weekend study assignments, but it was worth it.

Someone had to stand up for Uzumaki Naruto.

He left the still arguing Uchiha in the office after ensuring that the proper forms had been filled out signed and notice had been submitted to the local office of education as was required to make the suspension official before taking his leave.

He felt old and haggard, beyond his years at the moment but he knew that he wasn't done yet.

He sighed and headed off to where he had sent the two boys earlier.

The sky had been clouding over since lunch so there was a bit of an eerie feel to the room as he approached it from the hallway. The pair had sat themselves in what would have been their typical desks in their own classroom, which Iruka found funny for a moment as an absurd smile came onto his face.

Naruto was sprawled out on the desk, eyes closed as he pillowed his head on his arms.

Shikamaru had placed himself at the desk in front of the blonde and was turned around in the chair, gently carding his fingers through the other boy's hair. There was a serene sort of smile on the Nara's face which contrasted oddly with the fierceness of attention being granted by those dark eyes which were so often hidden behind heavy lids.

The moment seemed simultaneously casual and intimate and Iruka felt like he was intruding on an intensely personal moment for the pair. As the Nara leaned forward and, pursing his lips lightly, added a gentle kiss to the top of Naruto's head everything clicked into place for Iruka.

Their friendship had never made sense.

Because it wasn't a friendship. It may have started that way and it may still function as the foundation of their relationship. But to call it merely a friendship was disingenuous and frankly untrue.

It was more than that. So much more.

Without opening his eyes, Naruto snaked one hand out from under his head and rested his fingers gently against the hand that Shikamaru had placed there.

Iruka stood there for longer than was probably healthy, watching his students as full understanding took root for the first time.

No one said anything. Iruka didn't make his presence known and as tied up in their own moment as they were, the boys didn't notice him. They spoke no words to each other, though Iruka swore that they were sharing something that they alone understood.

They just existed, in that moment. That perfect moment of time where no one else was judging them and they could just be as they wanted.

Without warning or preamble one tear slipped out of Naruto's closed eye and made the short trip down the usually cheerful boy's face.

Shikamaru's carding had stopped, leaving the blonde tresses behind and rubbing his thumb carefully against a tanned cheek, brushing that tear away before it could complete its journey. The Nara lowered his head, his forehead soon resting atop Naruto's, moving his arm to encircle Naruto's shoulders as best as the chairs and desks would allow.

"It's okay."

Two simple words slipped from the Nara's mouth. The boy was usually stoic to the point of robotic when he was speaking to anyone but Naruto. His voice usually had a gruffness to it, whether from not speaking or just a rough natural voice none of the teachers really knew, that was the only way that any of the teachers knew to recognize it as being him. And he certainly didn't comfort people – he didn't see the point when they would likely just work themselves up again shortly anyway and that would just be effort wasted.

But now his voice was gentle, soft. There had been more emotion than Iruka could name filling up and glowing through and spilling out from those mere two words. A voice still scratchy, but in a soothing way.

Iruka suddenly studied the floor, feeling like he was intruding on an important moment here. He stepped back and away, still somehow unnoticed.

He would let the pair have their moment. The bell would ring announcing the end of class in a few minutes and their moment would be over anyway. He wasn't going to end it early, not when he didn't have to.

He smiled slightly as he leaned against the wall. _Naruto has more than one person to stand for him…and maybe it's just enough._

So let me know what you think!

I've already started work on my next one as well so hopefully the wait isn't as long this time.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Note: This story seems to have been the favorite of what I have written so far and I left so much out when I edited the story last time that I decided to come back and visit them again and trying and fit something of that information in. That said, I hope you enjoy.

Also…no…I did not fall off the face of the earth…I have however developed a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder region that has caused a lot of pain. Also…been triggering to multitudes of migraines over the last month so progress on this story has been in small spurts and occasional paragraphs. I have a regime now for the pain and possible solution with my doctors that we are working on hopefully without having to resort to surgery (….I just really don't want to be cut open…). The reason it has taken this long to get resolved is because living in the boondocks of Korea as a foreigner, getting medical attention when your Korean is remedial at best and no one speaks English is an exercise in futility. But finally we are getting somewhere and I'm running on a full 48 hours now of not an iota of pain…it's an addicting feeling!

Alright…you guys are done listening to me prattle, on with the show!

* * *

School's Out – Part 2

* * *

(4 years later)

Shikamaru Nara stretched beneath the blankets before snaking out one hand to slam into the alarm that has disrupted his wondrous sleep. Groaning lightly, he rolled towards the other side of the bed and was surprised to be met by cool sheets.

Surfacing his head from beneath the duvet, confused eyes squinted through locks of long dark hair as he realized that he was alone in the bed.

"Naruto?" he called out to what he quickly realized was an empty apartment.

He pushed himself out of bed, grabbing a discarded hair tie off of the bedside table and making quick work of getting his hair out of his face as he wandered out of their bedroom into the rest of the apartment.

He scratched idly at his side as he entered the kitchen and noted that a coffee cup and a plate with the remnant of crumbs on it were sitting in the sink. He darted his eyes to the fridge as saw a note held up with the beer mug magnet from their spur of the moment trip last winter up to Sapporo when Shikamaru had finished his finals and was determined to avoid his mother after one of them came back with a passing but low grade. Shaking his head again at the stupidity of visiting the northern island in the middle of winter, he pulled the note free.

_Shiks, _

_Sorry I had to leave early! _

_Yamato had a bunch of guys get food poisoning and they need to get the project done by the deadline. I told him that I can only work until noon so don't you dare try to ditch out on Graduation! I'll be there!_

_Make sure you get to the School on time or your mom is gonna call me and nag about what a horrible influence I am on her boy. Please save me the agony!_

_Hey, did you ever call you dad back? I know you think it's troublesome, but he's still your dad!_

_See you tonight!_

_Love, _

_Naruto_

Shikamaru sighed and set the note on the counter before setting about getting a bowl of cereal for himself.

Their industrial tech teacher Asuma Sarutobi had pulled a few strings with some people he knew and helped Naruto get a spot on a construction crew after they graduated from high school. While it was a lot of hard work, Naruto was the kind of person who needed to be _doing_ something anyway. Manual labor wasn't a bad thing for him and honestly, sticking with it could earn him decent money and Shikamaru wasn't complaining about the effect that it was having on Naruto's body.

In fact, Naruto had been tossing the idea of specializing in, of all things, plumbing and getting an apprenticeship.

"Everyone has toilets," Naruto had pointed out with a shrug when their old teacher Iruka Umino had asked over lunch one day and the older man had to agree that the blonde had a point. Naruto had impressed the man by even talking about opening his own plumbing business one day. He had some decent plans for it too.

They had actually seen a lot of their old homeroom teacher in the years following their graduation from high school. Naruto had been kicked out of the group home that he lived in a week after graduation as he was now an adult and finished with school and was no longer a ward of the state. They had to make room for something other poor kid.

At first he had spent a couple of nights in a shelter, not wanting to take advantage of his relationship with Shikamaru to guilt the Naras into giving him a space. He had figured that he would spend a few weeks at the shelter before his paychecks started coming in and he could find himself a livable apartment. He'd had a real serious fight about it with Shikamaru who didn't like the idea of Naruto in shelters when he himself slept in a house full of rooms with unused beds covered with sheets that had never cradled a body. But Naruto knew that Shikaku simply didn't understand the relationship between the pair and Yoshino flat out did not like it or approve of them, constantly surprising Shikamaru with so-and-so-from-the-office's daughter and wasn't she so pretty? She would never stand for the blonde living in her home.

He had worked it out with Shikamaru that they would see each other once a day, and Naruto would take the cell phone that Shikamaru had been trying to get him to accept for years, "in case of emergencies." Shikamaru had Naruto's important things boxed in his room, safe in the Nara household, so that Naruto didn't have to risk losing his things if he was going to insist on doing this _this_ way. Shikamaru still didn't like it though.

But Naruto had figured that he had his situation all worked out.

He had figured.

What he _hadn't_ figured on was Iruka Umino calling Shikamaru a few weeks after graduation with the simple intention of checking in on the pair of students that he had grown quite attached to.

Shikamaru knew that Iruka wouldn't be able to stomach Naruto sleeping in shelters every night either. He hoped that maybe the blonde might listen to their teacher as Naruto had respected him so much.

So one night, Naruto was strolling up the street, dirty from working on a site covered in splatters and smears of dirt and sawdust and caulking and every other weird kind of compound that was used on a construction site. He had the same beat up backpack he used to cart around to high school tossed over one shoulder, the strap for the other long having since worn through. He had looked tired, but kind of happy as he rounded the corner.

Then he saw, right in front of the shelter, the form of Shikamaru leaning against the building, arms crossed over his chest, and the stiff postured form of an angry Iruka Umino that he remembered well from school and had learned to rightly fear, but not shirk from.

He had sighed in resignation as he approached the pair, head down, chin to his chest as he prepared himself for the scolding.

Shikamaru had felt unbelievably guilty as Naruto continence had quickly assumed that of a kicked puppy. _He_ had told Iruka that Naruto was staying in this shelter. The tick that had appeared over Iruka's eyebrow when he had caught sight of the Nara's boyfriend had jolted him with the ingrained reaction that had been trained into them at the sight of it during school last year. Iruka-sensei was a nice guy…until you pissed him off…and boy did it ever seem like that was where this was heading.

"Naruto." The man had pushed through gritted teeth.

Naruto fired off a mild glare in Shikamaru's direction before giving their teacher an embattled grin. "Hey sensei! Long time no see!" He topped it all off with a jerky wave of his right hand, while his left clenched a little tighter around the strap of his backpack.

Iruka had his hands planted firmly on his hips as his eyes darted about, taking Naruto in and analyzing everything that he could see to make sure that his former student was okay. "Naruto! What do you think that you are doing?!"

The blonde jumped back at the sheer volume of the exclamation and Shikamaru found himself wondering, yet again, if he had been doing the right thing to get their teacher involved.

"Um…walking?" Naruto tried with a grim, somehow managing to shrug while simultaneously ducking his head into his shoulders as though to protect his ears from the sound.

Iruka's hands were at his hips and one foot tapped out a rapid march. "You know what I mean!"

"But sensei…I'm just walking up the street!" Naruto pouted.

Shikamaru almost smirked, because it looked so freaking adorable to see that childish pout on the face of someone who by all the rules of their society was now a functioning adult, returning after a day working the grind.

"But where were you walking _to_ Naruto?"

Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "Um…home?"

Iruka sighed then, closing his eyes and stilling for a moment. To Shikamaru it seemed like the man was trying to gather energy from the world around him. To pull in strength. When the educator opened his eyes, Shikamaru choked on his breath.

There was a sadness there so deep that it scared the shit out of Shikamaru. The dark eyes of their sensei seemed like bottomless pits that were reaching out, desperately trying to grab a hold of you and pull you in.

Scarier yet, he had seen it before.

Naruto's eyes used to look like that quite a bit, before Shikamaru had become his friend, back when he faced the world alone.

He had almost forgotten that haunted look.

"It's not your _home_ Naruto."

It was whispered, in a tone that spoke of heartbroken understanding and Shikamaru gulped. _Why_ had he blabbed? This was going to be such a drag…

Shikamaru watched as the blonde's jaw muscles tightened while he aimed narrowed eyes at the sidewalk. He heard the sudden rush of air as Naruto seemed to push every last molecule of oxygen in his lungs out forcefully through his nose. This was getting real and fast, right on the streets in the middle of the city.

"Well, I wouldn't know what that is." Naruto said, harsher than he would normally speak and it was apparent that he was trying valiantly to reign in his temper. "This place is as good as any. Fine, I'll say what I said last year to the Uchiha bastard – I'm going _back!_ Happy now?" He swung his arm wide to incorporate the building behind them, but stiffly and Shikamaru knew Naruto was gearing up to blow. This was his last ditch attempt to reign himself in, though once he reached this point, he was rarely able to hold back.

Shikamaru stepped forward, one hand outreached, ready to grab hold of Naruto, to hold him tight so that the blonde wouldn't do something that he would regret immensely later.

But Iruka got their first.

Their long-limbed sensei wrapped his gangly arms around the teen and held tight.

Naruto's countenance changed from enraged to terrified confusion in the blink of an eye. "Wha…?"

"Naruto…home isn't a place you assign arbitrarily." Iruka pulled back enough to be able to see Naruto's face, but his hands remained firmly planted on the boy's shoulders. "It is far more than a place that you happen to stay in. Home is a feeling, a sense of contentment and safety and warmth. It is a place that entrenches itself into the very core of your being. This is _not_ it."

Naruto's throat quivered. "I don't…" he gaped unsure of where he was even intending to go with that sentence.

"Naruto, come with Shikamaru and I. We need to talk about all of this."

Naruto nodded dumbly and allowed himself to be led to Iruka's car, Shikamaru silently crawling into the back and resting his hand calmly on Naruto's shoulder over the seat in front of him, a silent showing of support.

Naruto's dusty hand reached up and wrapped around those fingers, and Shikamaru swallowed thickly at the slight tremble in Naruto's fingers.

Shikamaru liked to think that he knew all the ins and outs of Naruto, that there was no one on the planet who knew the quirky man as well as he did. But it would seem that in this instance, he didn't know the man at all. Because he couldn't fathom what was running through his head right now.

After a greasy meal in a diner, filled with lots of stubborn declarations, hissed out expletives and finally quite a few tears, Iruka had talked Naruto around to the idea that he could take advantage of other options than a shelter.

"But I can't stay with you and your parents!" Naruto reiterated, not sounding nearly as combative as he had at the beginning of the conversation, but still unable to move past that point in his mind. "Your mom…"

Shikamaru had Naruto's hand in his under the table, running his thumb across scraped up knuckles, he momentarily rested his forehead against Naruto's sturdy shoulder. "I know…" he said softly.

Shikamaru would have made the offer to move out and find their own place…if his mother didn't control the purse strings in their family. His father he could argue around to helping him get an apartment, his mother would see through all his pretty words of bullshit and know exactly why he was looking for one.

Iruka chuckled. "Shikamaru isn't the only one who cares about you…" When the pair of teens focused on their old teacher, they saw him slowly shaking his head from side to side while smiling, rolling his eyes when he saw that he had their attention. "Naruto, come stay with me."

"Sensei…" Naruto whispered, "You don't have to do that…"

"Naruto, I _want_ to…which is _better_ than 'having to' anyway…" Iruka waved his hand in a swatting gesture as though he was physically able to bat away any argument that the blonde might come up with.

"But…"

Iruka's eyes hardened into something reminiscent of his teaching mode when someone had acted up in class. "Naruto, you _deserve_ a home."

Shikamaru felt the blonde's hand tremble slightly within his grasp, heard the loud swallowing of spit after Naruto gaped about for an answer before coming up with nothing.

"You are an amazing kid Naruto. We're alike in a lot of ways…" And that was how the pair found out about Iruka's own past as a child of the system. How he used to act out for attention, being the class clown. How he had been lucky enough to find a home within the system. "You have a chance to go so far, let me _help_ you. You can have a safe place to stay, guaranteed every night, a place that is yours where you can _leave_ things and not have to carry them around all day with you or store them with someone else where you don't get the chance to see them. You will have someone around who cares about you and wants to talk with you, and even though I'm only one person, it's better than being all alone within a crowd or the risk of the shelter filling up before you can arrive one night."

At some point Naruto's eyes had slipped down to his lap, where Shikamaru's hand clasping his own was visible. The Nara tilted his head, intently watching Naruto _not watch_ Iruka. The Uzumaki's eyes slowly shifted up and down, following Shikamaru's thumb's journey along the raised bumps of tightly pulled knuckles, but they were glazed over, following the motions without conscious thought.

"I can help pay rent…" Naruto croaked and Shikamaru had to wonder just how hard it was to push those words through his throat. Then he saw it. Shikamaru saw the twitch, a falter in the perpetual grin that had been yanked tight across Naruto's face. A muscle spasm just at the corner of his mouth that was gone in the blind of an eye.

Naruto was afraid.

No wait, it was worse.

Naruto was _terrified_.

Shikamaru's mind whirled. And suddenly he knew why the blonde had been so adamant. Naruto knew nothing of what it meant to have like a home, to have a place to return to, a place that would always be there for him, without someone there to welcome him home again. And to offer him exactly that, with an adult who cared about the boy, and had proven it, to dangle that carrot in front of him was scarier than anything else.

Because it would be something that would kill him to lose after – and Naruto was used to losing the good things in his life. Just about the only good thing to stick around was Shikamaru. And the Nara knew that there was a part of Naruto that was always waiting for Shikamaru to walk away, deciding that the Uzumaki was "too troublesome." Shikamaru had made it his life's mission to prove to Naruto that the exact opposite was true.

Iruka must have understood because his voice as he continued was gentler than anything the young man could ever remember having heard out of the man. "Keep your money Naruto. Save it up and use it to start your life later. I don't care if you save up just to get your first apartment or a car or a vacation or _whatever you want_, but while you are with me I will have you covered. You are welcome with me for as long as you need or want it."

Naruto's head was bowed and his grip on Shikamaru's hand was painful. The Nara was losing feeling in his fingers but rather than shake the grip off he instead placed his other hand atop Naruto's and held all the tighter to those trembling fingers.

"Just until I get a paycheck…" Naruto whispered, still unable to look at their teacher, but Shikamaru smiled even though for some reason he felt like crying.

Naruto would be safe and secure, and maybe he'd learn something about family along the way. One that belonged to him and that he didn't have to share vicariously as the family of his friends, or boyfriend.

And if anyone deserved to know what family was, it was Naruto. Parents would have been proud of him as a son, someone who stood up for what was right, even if no one else was at his back. Someone who tried and put forth effort even if his brain capacity wasn't quite that of his classmates, namely Shikamaru and others like him. And Naruto would have been a brilliant older brother, ready to help his siblings pull pranks and skirt the edges of the rules, but right there as the protector and eternal confidant. It was a cruel joke of the universe that all of that had been denied him.

And a mere quirk of fate that he had turned out as wonderfully as he had despite it all.

They drove to the Nara house and grabbed the couple of boxes of Naruto's things from the corner of Shikamaru's closet, moving under the scrutinizing eye of Yoshino Nara.

Iruka looked a little sad at how everything Naruto owned didn't even fill the trunk of the small compact car, but closed the trunk without comment and drove them off to his unassuming apartment, in an unassuming building, in an unassuming part of town where Naruto was given a plain unassuming spare room.

But it wouldn't remain that way for long.

Naruto's first paycheck came and Iruka helped his student open up a bank account to put it in. When Naruto got hurt working on a site, Iruka picked him up from the hospital and took care of him. When he had to file taxes for the first time, Iruka helped him through all of the paperwork…with some mild razzing about the terror on Naruto's face when confronted with the necessary math. When Naruto's birthday rolled around, he awoke to balloons in his room and a cake on the table.

But what Naruto liked the most, the thing that had him breaking the promise that he made to himself that he would leave the educator's house behind as soon as possible, were simple things.

The light on when he got home.

The subtle sounds of someone else moving around.

A voice and a cheery smile calling out a, "Welcome Home, Naruto," when he would walk in the door.

Naruto had promised himself a month, maybe two.

It had taken three years and Shikamaru's proposal that they should live together, before Naruto tearfully hugged the man who had become his own family, his brother, and waved goodbye after Iruka had helped them move into their new apartment together, being paid for with all of the saved up paychecks that Naruto had accumulated over the years.

Iruka had taken a ridiculous amount of pride in how much Naruto now had to his name, that it took more than a trio of men one trip to move it all.

And Naruto seemed to be excited that _he_ was the one paying for the apartment. That he was able to provide for Shikamaru, who had never wanted for anything in his entire life. Him, Naruto who had wanted for most of his life.

"I've got the first year." He had said, a grin tugged from ear to ear. "You finish university and we'll figure out what happens after when you start pulling in the 'big bucks.'" He finished with air quotes and rolled eyes.

Shikamaru had been worried about what would happen when Shikamaru did start working, because he was guaranteed a position at his father's company after he finished his Business Degree, and while he was starting out at an entry-level position (his father wanted his son in the company, but he wasn't stupid enough to put him in position to cause mischief if it turned out that he didn't know what he was doing) he was still going to be making more, and far consistently, than Naruto with his construction work that came in and ebbed like a tide with demand.

He wondered if there would be a sense of inferiority that would slip over the blonde.

After too many beers one night watching a baseball game on TV, that worry has slipped out and Naruto had rolled his eyes at the time, tugged the Nara's unusual hair-style, and called him, "my favorite idiot."

Shikamaru must have looked confused because the blonde explained further. "I know that I'm never going to make lots of money. But look," he gestured around to their apartment, not a 'pad' like most college kids lived in, but a legitimate home, lower edge of middle class probably, fully furnished and cared for, "look at this place. This place that _I_ pay for. I can do it, not as nicely as when you have a paycheck to add to mine, but _I can do it_." His smile was gentle now, "Making a big deal about what your salary will be when I know this…talk about _troublesome_."

Shikamaru laughed heartily as Naruto winked. And drunk as he was, Shikamaru realized what an idiot he was. Because this was _Naruto_. He didn't care how much money Shikamaru would make. He didn't care that Shikamaru would be a white-collar office worker, while the Uzumaki himself was a blue-collar laborer. Why should he? He has a job he likes. And as much as Shikamaru bitched about having to work in the family business, he knew himself that he would be bored with something more mundane than the tricky world of business. It was knowledge and experience and psychology and sociology and science and education and everything all mixed up together and he would have to learn what portions of which would have to be combined together in various scenarios. As long as Shikamaru didn't loathe his job, Naruto would be fine.

Why did he worry so damn much all the time?

It was troublesome as all hell.

Shikamaru shook his head, why the hell was he reminiscing all _this-is-your-life-style_ this morning?!

He took a quick shower and donned the suit that his mother had sent over for him last week, tossing the tie she chose to go with it and instead grabbing a gag tie that Naruto had bought on their trip to the city of Nara. He smirked at the deer that danced around the deep green fabric. Naruto had bought him the tie after they had walked through Nara Park and the Nara had been swarmed by deer. Naruto had laughed his ass off at Shikamaru surrounded by at least a dozen deer, glaring at Naruto like he was a traitor because they hadn't liked _him_ for no foreseeable reason.

He grabbed his robe and cap and tucked them over his arm before jogging down the stair to hail a cab. Naruto better be there, because there was no way he was sitting through the celebratory dinner afterwards alone.

Shikamaru kept checking his phone right up until they were to proceed into the hall, everyone in dark green caps and gowns, looks of exhausted happiness on their faces, while he just worried with his phone's antenna, waiting for the drum beats the signified the beginning of Naruto's personal ringtone.

But no call ever came in. Instead he had to silence the phone under the glaring eyes of the Business School Dean, whom Shikamaru was very grateful that he would soon never have to see again.

Grouchy old coot.

His eyes darted about but it was difficult to find specific people in the swath of humanity taking up seats in the bleachers to watch their pride and joys walk across a stage, have their name butchered, shaking hands with some old dude, grab an empty display folder (diploma to be delivered through the mail at a later date), shake some other old dude's hand, walk off the stage, have their picture taken with the empty folder and return to their seat.

Fifteen seconds tops.

All the pomp and circumstance (ha – _ironic_) for fifteen measly seconds didn't seem worth it to Shikamaru. He was sitting through an hour of speeches that someone thought would be inspiring but really wouldn't be remembered by the end of the ceremony, let alone for the rest of their lives, when he would much rather be curled up in bed, preferably with the warmth of Naruto at his side.

Such a drag.

Shikamaru bounced his leg in a bored fashion. How much longer did he have to be here? He clapped absentmindedly as another speaker concluded their exercise in futility and sat down.

The President of the University stood up and Shikamaru mentally cheered – time for the walk! It was almost over!

He plodded along behind a student whose name he did not know as they proceeded in some convoluted fashion to get everyone to the front in the correct order.

It was at this moment that he remember that he was at a top tier school. A wealthy school. Because the people in the audience were…_behaved_. He could not think of a more stereotypically Japanese reaction to your child graduating from one of the best schools in the country with honors then to remain silent as per the directions given before the ceremony began. There was no cheering, no sound makers, not even a golf clap.

It was bizarre.

He walked up a ramp, following behind a kid he'd shared at least one class with every semester but had never bothered to learn his name. He thought maybe it was Kenji or Renji or something like that…or he could be completely off the mark. Frankly he didn't really care.

Then that kid was walking across the stage to no applause and the sole accompaniment of the school orchestra playing "Pomp and Circumstance" on loop. A member of the faculty stood on the platform at the top of the ramp smiling blandly at the room. She did take the time to hiss out of the corner of her mouth for him to "straighten up."

Shikamaru smirked and slumped his shoulders even more, getting a weird pleasure out of how narrow he could make this unnamed woman's eyes narrow.

This was ridiculous. He hadn't even wanted to go to Graduation, whatever his mother's threats were. But Naruto had talked him into going, freaking Naruto could talk him into _anything_, even when logic was on the Nara's side.

He would work on that…but it was too much trouble. Besides, Naruto gave good incentives.

"Shikamaru Nara."

Shikamaru sighed and straightened just enough to walk comfortably and meandered onto the stage.

And there was a shout. Just one, from the far corner of the room and his dark eyes narrowed in where he saw a flash of blonde in a blue suit with an orange tie. Just one solitary whoop that had drawn the attention of the entire crowd and Shikamaru straightened and a smile tugged across his face and a light chuckle escaped him.

It was a startlingly apt metaphor for his life he thought idly, shaking the hand of the University President who laughter in his own eyes, and grabbing his leather bound folder. He existed in this world of luxury, provided by parents who expected him to follow in their footsteps and following along their little path. A series of rules and edicts that he was to follow and pay attention to. And he was doing it. Following their little plan, even if it was because he didn't have one of his own. And then there was Naruto. The introduction of brightness and chaos into the dullness of conformity. Naruto made humdrum bearable, because when Shikamaru looked up from paperwork, there would be that Cheshire grin, an outstretched hand, and a plan for reasonable mischief.

Naruto simply made him happy. With the blonde, Shikamaru clicked into place. Reasons weren't needed. Words weren't needed. Because things fell into place on their own. And Shikamaru liked it, because he didn't have to think most of the time. They just worked, in their weird, quirky, impossible-to-understand-if-you're-not-living-it way.

He bounded down the stairs and had a _real_ smile put on for his picture, a sight seen by only a few and almost never photographed, and quickly glanced at Naruto who flashed him a thumbs up while studiously ignoring the glare from Shikamaru's mother who was separated from the blonde only by Shikaku who had a strange little smile on his face. Knowing that Shikamaru was watching, the man tilted his head slightly in Naruto's direction before nodding once.

_Alright._

Shikaku Nara didn't get it, and it would be a while before he ever did, but he had just given his blessing on a relationship between his son and Naruto Uzumaki. Shikamaru's eye's widened and he numbly sat down in his chair, zoning out the rest of the ceremony.

Shikamaru greatly admired his father. The man wasn't as demonstrative as some, but he was kind in his own way and very similar in temperament to his child. Any time Shikamaru had questions or wanted a conversation, the man would put aside his paperwork and devote his full attention to the boy. He taught Shikamaru the rules of shougi and the young man was proud that it had been years since his father had held back while they played.

While Shikaku Nara was fond of his son, he was also a little set in his ways. His mind would quickly work out the path to the best ideal outcome. And none of those calculations accounted for a gay son. Japanese society did not really approve. Yoshino Nara did not approve (and to be honest, that was probably the _biggest_ concern in his mind…because Yoshino was _scary_). And it would just generally make Shikamaru's life more difficult, and no parent wanted to see that for their child.

But now he was looking down at his child as the boy become man was graduation from university, knowing that his son's presence at the ceremony had nothing to do with the alternating pleads and threats of the woman to his left, but everything to do with the jumpy blonde to his right. And the smile on his son's face, that free and easy grin with the bright eyes that only came out when Shikamaru was truly engrossed in something, something that the man usually only saw over a shougi board, but also – whenever his son was around Naruto.

Shikamaru was relaxed and happy and alert (surprisingly enough) when he was around Uzumaki. And after all of these years, they didn't show any signs of breaking apart or fraying at the edges.

So Shikaku, using his immense intellect and predictive prowess, decided that the best thing for Shikamaru was to accept that Naruto was a part of his life and would remain so. And that meant accepting Naruto as more than Shikamaru's friend or Shikamaru's roommate. It meant accepting Naruto as Shikamaru's boyfriend, lover, partner, and companion.

And with one nod Shikamaru knew that somehow it was going to be alright. His father would eventually talk his mother around, little by little, like he always could.

The ceremony ended and Shikamaru shocked classmates by bolting through the assembled mass, mortar board clutched in his hand so that it didn't going flying off his head, darting around people with an agility that didn't seem to fit the lethargic classmate that they had all come to know. He barreled towards a flash of blonde and practically leapt at him, caught and braced by arms strengthened from working on the site, the smell of sawdust and the slight musk of sweat filling his nose as he buried his face into the tanned neck.

He was laughing like a maniac, letting go of the tension that he had held within himself, clutching even tighter when his father's warm hand clapped him on the back.

He pulled back and turned, keeping one arm around Naruto's shoulders but allowing himself to face his parents. His father looked amused, and his mother had a smile that was fighting valiantly against the grouchy scowl that was trying to take hold.

"Congratulations son," Shikaku offered with a small amused shake of his head.

"Yes, we're proud of you." Yoshino said, a bit stiffly but still warm.

"You kicked ass Shikamaru," Naruto said softly, Shikamaru catching it but just outside of his parents' range.

Shikamaru chuckled and reined himself back in. He knew this moment would be remembered forever. Not because it was his graduation day, in fact he thought it odd that he would actually remember this day at all considering that he had not even wanted to attend, but because it was the day that things settled, that reality clued in to what Shikamaru and Naruto already knew.

They were a weird pair. Dark and light. Lethargic and energetic. Sly and Sincere.

On paper they would never work.

But they didn't care what anyone said, not really. Because the point was having each other. And that would continue for the rest of their lives.

Feeling suddenly daring and mischievous, a little of Naruto bleeding over to him, he twisted on his feet and brought his lips against Naruto's dry warmth mouth.

It was only a few seconds, nothing more than their lips together, but it was his declaration to the world of what his heart knew to be true.

Naruto's blue eyes met his in silent question when Shikamaru pulled back. The man just smiled and shook his head slightly.

No words spoken, none needed. Naruto just let a lazy smile drift across his face and he tugged his lover in for another hug.

_Love you_.

* * *

So, there it is! I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed revisiting the couple.

Side note: I have received quite a few PMs and reviews about possibly doing a Shikamaru/fem!Naruto story. My favorite was a recent review saying, "Their kids would be made of awesome." Now I've never written anything like that, and I've only read a small handful of the stories. I don't tend to read stories where the genders have been switched, but there is not any particular reason behind why I don't…

So what do you think? Would it be worth a shot? Would you guys give it a chance? Let me know…I'm kind of curious if this is a thing that I should pursue. It would be an interesting writing challenge…

Anyway, please leave a review to let me know what you think. I do think that it is fair to call this story officially complete now. Don't go expecting continuations on any of the others I've written either, this one I always had more material than I had originally included so it was something I had been considering from the beginning.


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